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Takeshi Manganji
Takeshi Manganji is a member and leader of the Manganji Dreams and the main rival of Kouya Marino. He is a former member of the Tobita Club and one of the teammates to Kouya's older brother, Yuhya Marino. Takeshi comes from a wealthy family that runs their own company, known as the Manganji Group. Takeshi’s Crush Gear is Gaiki, and was previously known to use Gougetsu. Appearance Takeshi is shown to have black hair and brown eyes. His hair is spiked upwards at the back and a few strands of hair protudes from his forehead (the number of hair strands ranges from four to six, and more rarely, three or seven). His usual outfit consists of a red jacket with several badges on it, and one of them has the word "GEAR" on the jacket's left sleeve. He also has a sleeveless black shirt (this is revealed near the end of the movie), dark blue slacks, gray socks and a pair of brown shoes. Takeshi's younger self (four years ago) is seen wearing a white shirt with short red sleeves, black pants and a pair of green and white sneakers. He was occasionally seen wearing a red tuxedo, notably when he joined the Tobita Club and during his birthday party in the movie. Personality In terms of Gear Fighting, Takeshi is often seen to be calm and confident during battles. He often resorts to destroying his opponent's Gears by using his special attack King of the Dragon Fighters (except for Kouya, who manages to avoid and survive the attack a few times) but never gets disqualified despite it being frowned upon. He also shows several signs of passion when pitting against a truly skilled Gear Fighter such as Kouya. Takeshi's cold attitude is shown on several occasions throughout the series. An instance of this is his refusal to extend the time for Kyousuke to return from the Black Forest before the World Cup semifinal match against Kuroudo. Takeshi is also shown to be manipulative, which is revealed when Kyousuke finds out that his actual intentions for bringing him to the Manganji Laboratory were so that Takeshi could steal Garuda Eagle's data. However, it is discovered near the end of the series that Takeshi is emotionally disturbed by Yuhya's death and has been hiding his true feelings. Takeshi is also seen to possess a generous nature towards the Tobita Club and Kouya in several circumstances. This is shown when he offers to give money to the Tobita Club during its time of crisis. Takeshi's concern for Kouya's wellbeing is also revealed when Kouya almost falls from the roof of the Manganji building after their battle. Plot Involvement in the Tobita Club Takeshi's interest in Gear Fighting began when he first came across the Tobita Clubhouse while riding with his bodyguard, Kurosaki. Inside, Takeshi saw a Gear Fighter who was practising Crush Gear. He introduced himself as Yuhya, a skilled Gear Fighter. Takeshi befriended Yuhya and eventually joined the Tobita Club along with Alex Borg and Shingo Nagidori. With the help of his newfound friends Takeshi grew into a talented Gear Fighter; they even supported him when he was defeated during his World Cup match. Seeing how far he had come in his first year, Yuhya requested Takeshi's help in training his younger brother, Kouya after the World Cup. On the day of the World Cup finals, an unfortunate accident occurred which led to the tragic death of Yuhya. The accident impacted Takeshi's life in a major way. Feeling abandoned and lost, he was forced to take charge of training all the members of the Tobita Club alone. This prompted Takeshi to suppress his true feelings and become a cold hearted boy who showed no signs of weakness. Over the next four years, Takeshi's skill's as a Gear Fighter continued to grow and he eventually became the top player in the Tobita Club. The Fall of the Tobita Club Four years after Yuhya's death, Takeshi and Lilika are left in charge of selecting new team members for the Tobita Club. Kouya is scheduled to fight for a place in the club but he shows up an hour late. Takeshi decides to make an example of Kouya so he challenges him to last just one minute in a Gear Fight. To everyone's amazement, Kouya ends up defeating Takeshi and becomes a member of the Tobita Club. However, Lilika eventually finds out that Takeshi purposely let Kouya win so that he could quit and form a club of his own. This leads to the resignation of almost every member in the Tobita Club to the verge of closing down. After Kouya learns what actually happened, he pleads Takeshi to return to the Tobita Club. Takeshi refuses, stating that the Tobita Club is still controlled by Yuhya's reputation and that the club has no meaning to him. He even degrades Kouya by telling him that he does not deserve to call himself a Gear Fighter. Formation of the Manganji Club On the night of the Manganji Club's opening ceremony, an exhibition match is scheduled to take place between Takeshi and Bernard Stellan, a French Champion until Kouya intrudes and challenges Takeshi to a duel. Believing that Kouya will be no match for him, Takeshi accepts and they make their way to the Manganji rooftop Crush Gear ring. As their battle begins Takeshi realises that Kouya is using Yuhya's old Crush Gear, Garuda Eagle. For most of the match Kouya manages to hold his own against Takeshi, but their battle ends in an inevitable draw. As Takeshi leaves via helicopter, he states to Kouya that he had his chance and the next time they would face would have to be in a tournament. Manganji Cup arc After several weeks the Manganji Group decides to host their own Crush Gear tournament known as the Manganji Cup in hopes of attracting attention of several Crush Gear clubs and companies. Many major Gear Fighting enthusiasts are in attendance, including the chairman of the Japanese Crush Gear Association. However the event is soon interrupted by the unexpected appearance of the newly formed Tobita Club. They had hoped to use the Burning Octopus team's invitation to compete in the tournament. However, Takeshi refuses by stating that they are not invited. After a brie f argument the Tobita Club are offered an ultimatum. They would be allowed to compete in an exhibition game against a team of Takeshi's choosing known as the Mighty Gears. Unable to persuade Takeshi any further, the Tobita Club agree and accept his offer. The first three matches of the exhibition game are an astonishment to watch. Many people are in awe as they witness a fierce battle between two skilled teams. But it is not the expectaions the Tobita Club is hoping for, as it sees the defeat of Jirou, Kuroudo and Kyousuke at the hands of the Mighty Gears. The final round of the exhibition match is supposed to see Kouya face off against Satoru Todoroki. But Takeshi intervenes, stating that the Tobita Club had already lost every match and that it would be unnecessary for Kouya to play. This drives Kouya to call Takeshi a coward and a cheat. Takeshi then reveals to Kouya the true intentions of the Manganji Cup. He states that the Manganji Group had invested 80 billion yen into building a top secret Crush Gear known as Gaiki, a Gear that would forever impact the world of Gear Fighting. Unphased by the announcement of Gaiki, Kouya agrees to battle Takeshi to a Gear Fight. Believing that he would be the only one to profit from the match, Takeshi asks Kouya if he is willing to risk destroying his brother's Gear just to face him. Seeing no other option, Kouya accepts the possibility and the two begin their match. The first round of the match seems close until Takeshi shows Gaiki's special features. It turns out that Gaiki is a unique Crush Gear fitted with VT Chassis that can shift the battery box forward in order to gain a huge boost of speed. Takeshi uses this feature to win the first round easily. During the second match Kouya chooses to use the dash wheels in the hopes of fighting Gaiki using speed for speed. For most of the match Kouya holds his own until Takeshi reveals Gaiki's second feature. When it shifts its battery box to the rear it allows Gaiki to boost its spin ratio. Not willing to surrender, Kouya fights with all his might, only to be left defeated by Takeshi's mighty Crush Gear. In the end Kouya is brought to his knees, sobbing in sadness over the loss he must accept. Hokkaido arc Soon after the Manganji Cup, Takeshi visits Kyousuke who is studying his data on Garuda Eagle. Kyousuke is invited to accompany Takeshi to the Manganji Group's research laboratory in Hokkaido. Takeshi tells Kyousuke that some of the best Gear Masters are already working for him, and that he owes it to himself to join the Manganji Group. Takeshi then gives Kyousuke a plane ticket to use whenever he is ready. Unable to resist the chance of a lifetime, he uses the ticket and travels to Hokkaido. While in Hokkaido, Takeshi is seen competing in an open Crush Gear tournament. There he is pitted against the local Gear Fighter, Daisuke Sasaki. Using Gaiki's VT Chassis, Takeshi makes short work of him. In the end he uses the King of the Dragon Fighters technique to destroy Sasaki's Gear and win the game. After the match Takeshi notices that several members of the Tobita Club are in attendance. There they see Kyousuke sitting with Takeshi's team. A few days later Takeshi gives Kyousuke a tour of the the Manganji Laboratory, where he introduces several other Gear Masters such as Michael Boyd from America and Yan Chao from China. As they continue their tour, Takeshi shows Kyousuke the facility's virtual battle arena which allows players to battle in a virtual simulation. Takeshi asks Kyousuke if he wishes to test his skills in the simulator, to which he accepts and begins a virtual match. During the battle Kyousuke holds his own against the simulator's top difficulty, but is unaware that Takeshi's scientist is downloading Garuda Eagle's data from his Gear case. In the end Kyousuke wins the simulated battle. The next day Kyousuke catches Takeshi using the stolen data to try and find a weakness in Garuda Eagle. When he confronts Takeshi and his scientist about it, he is told that in exchange for using the facility's resources, Kyousuke would need to provide information such as Garuda Eagle's data. Kyousuke tries to retrieve the stolen data but is soon ejected from the facilty. The next day Takeshi finds out that all the data from the master computer has been deleted (in a rogue effort by Kyousuke, Kouya and Kaoru). Asia Cup arc After winning numerous Crush Gear tournaments the Manganji Dreams qualify for the Asia Cup. Many skilled teams are present during the opening ceremony such as the Tobita Club, the Four Stars Team and Team Griffon. But Takeshi's reputation in the Crush Gear world make him and his team the odds on favorite to win. Takeshi's team manage to win all of their qualifying games with relative ease after fully mastering the VT Chassis. Even in the semifinals, Takeshi's team managed to show their superiority by defeating every one of their opponents, thus securing their position in the Asia Cup finals. After his match Takeshi is confronted by the Tobita Club, and in an act of arrogance he tells them to do their best if they hope to make it to the finals. Kyousuke overhears Takeshi talking to his bodyguard about the location of certain blueprints they have traced to a server in Chinatown. As Takeshi is leaving the arena he advises Kouya to watch the finals of the South America Cup if he wants to see an interesting match. A few hours later Takeshi and his bodyguard arrive at an apartment building in Chinatown. There they find the abandoned apartment building they hoped would have the location of the blueprints they were searching for. They are soon interupted by the unexpected arrival of the nosey Kyousuke and his accomplice Lan Fang. Kyousuke soon realizes that the apartment belonged to the legendary Gear God, the creator of the first Crush Gear. He also learns that the Gear God has created blueprints for a cheaper VT Chassis and has posted it globally on the Internet. Unaware of the Gear God's intentions, Takeshi seems unable to comprehend why someone would post such blueprints online. Kyousuke assumes that he posted it in order to make a fool of the Manganji Group, while Lan Fang believes it would level the playing field for other Gear Fighters. Their attention, however, is soon drawn to the finals of the South America Cup. Kyousuke and Lan Fang see a Gear Fighter named U-YA who uses Black Garuda Eagle to fight with in the finals. They also realize that U-YA can use the Shining Sword Breaker technique. Takeshi explains that U-YA had managed to use Shining Sword Breaker for every game he has competed in the South America Cup and had won 50 matches in row. The two are unwilling to believe Takeshi's description of U-YA. Showdown at the Asia Cup finals After a long and grueling tournament, two teams earn the right to compete for the Asia Cup finals - the Manganji Dreams and the Tobita Club - but only one would emerge victorious. After days of rigorous training, both teams are finally ready for the match they had so anxiously been waiting for. The first match sees Jirou take on Rai Shinomiya, a Gear Fighter best known for using dash type settings. Believing he would be best suited to face off against Rai, Jirou attempts to make short work of their match. However, Jirou is eventually defeated after Rai used his sister Rin's spin style of Gear Fighting to tactically win the match. In the second match the Tobita Club's Kyousuke squares off against the Data Magician Dan Midou, a Gear Fighter best known for analyzing every aspect of his opponent's Gear. During their match Dan manages to gain a quick advantage over Kyousuke after thoroughly studying Dino Spartan's strengths and weaknesses. However he does not anticipate that Kyousuke would purposely place a hairline fracture in one of Dino Spartan's gears. This eventually leads to Dan's defeat out of sheer luck. The time had finally come for the long expected rematch Kouya and Takeshi had been waiting for. They would battle each other not only to decide the new Asia Cup champion, but also to determine who was truly better as a Gear Fighter. In the first round Kouya attempts to quickly defeat Takeshi using his Shining Sword Breaker. However Takeshi manages to dodge it using Gaiki's VT Chassis spin at the right moment. After that Garuda Phoenix seems helpless against Gaiki, but Kouya manages to keep his Gear in the ring long enough for the round to end. As the final round begins Kouya sees something in Takeshi's eyes, a confidence his brother Yuhya had always shown in every one of his battles, the confidence to win. This spurs Kouya to battle Takeshi with everything he had. The two seems evenly matched and their skills as Gear Fighters push both players above and beyond their own limits. This prompts Takeshi to use the full force of his King of the Dragon Fighters technique against Kouya's Shining Sword Breaker. The crowd are in amazement as the entire arena shakes from the raw power that both of their Gears have displayed. As the smoke clears it seems as though neither Gear would come out on top, but after one of the greatest Gear Fights in history a winner eventually emerges. Takeshi manages to defeat Kouya and is crowned the new Asia Cup singles champion. Post-Asia Cup arc After witnessing the magnificent performance by Kouya and Takeshi during the Asia Cup finals, the chairman of the GFA, Ronaldo Firestone decides to make a drastic decision. In order to make the Crush Gear World Cup more interesting and competitive, he expands the scope of the World Cup Championship. Meaning not only would the winner of each continent's champion be allowed to compete, but also the first and second runners up as well. After his successful victory at the Asia Cup, Takeshi decides to host a congratulatory party for the Manganji Dreams. Several winners and runners up from regional championships are in attendance, such as the Tobita Club and the North American champion Brad Fincher. In the midst of the party Brad and Jirou get into a heated dispute when Brad chooses to call Jirou's close friend, Taki a third class Gear Fighter. An inevitable Gear Fight soon takes place between the two talented youngsters. Using his Crush Gear, Stealth Jiraiya, Brad quickly gains the upper hand over Raging Bull. In the end Jirou's skills are easily overwhelmed by Brad's ninja-based fighting style. Trivia * In an interview with the series producer Naotake Furusato, he described the surname "Manganji" as having an image of wealth. He jokingly added that Japanese people are suckers for names that end in "ji”. "Interview Side B." Sunrise Inc. Retrieved on January 20, 2009. * Takeshi shares his given name with another character from Crush Gear Nitro; however, the two characters have different backgrounds and personalities. References Category:Characters (Crush Gear Turbo) Category:Manganji Dreams